Artificial fishing lures are well known for use in catching fish. Such lures have bodies which attract one or more species of fish. In some cases, the lures have three dimensional bodies that are shaped and colored to simulate or resemble a natural food source for the fish. In other cases, the lures may not directly resemble any natural food source, but nonetheless have a configuration and coloring which has been found to attract fish and induce them to strike the lure.
Fishing lures of this type have means for suspending one or more hooks therefrom. These hooks often comprise gang hooks having a plurality of barbs at one end. As the lure floats in the water and attracts the fish, the fish will strike the lure and close its mouth over the body of the lure. This causes the hook barbs to engage the fish and hook the fish on the lure.
One problem with prior art lures of this type is that the typical gang hooks suspended from the lure body are very susceptible to being caught on weeds or other underwater obstructions. If this happens, the fisherman may be able to dislodge the lure. However, it often happens that the lure cannot be dislodged and the fisherman has to cut the line and replace the lure with another one. This is not only inconvenient and time consuming to do when fishing, but expensive as well since lures cost anywhere from a few dollars to five or ten dollars. The problem is more acute since most of the best fishing occurs in areas having underwater weeds or other cover where fish tend to lurk. However, it is exactly these types of areas which also provide the most opportunities for having the hooks be caught on the weeds and the lure be lost.